Equifax breach makes cybersecurity more urgent than ever

Our critical infrastructure centers are at grave risk for technological or digital disruption, more commonly known as hacks. A single hack on any one of these targets could severely imperil the health, financial well-being and security of the American people.

Members of Congress, state attorneys general, security experts and citizens need to strive to understand and mitigate the terrible impacts of the hack, because these impacts could last for years.

The privacy of Social Security, driver’s license and credit card numbers were all endangered by the Equifax hack. So were home addresses and dates of birth of roughly half the U.S. population.

Experts have been quick to identify what has been labeled the “Equi-hack” as a Level 10 (the highest number on a scale of 1 to 10) threat to identity and information security.

The depth and breadth of the Equi-hack underscores the urgent need for private sector leaders – including those at my company, Parsons – to confront and prevent cyberattacks across a wide spectrum of vulnerabilities.